Whyte v. The “Sandpiper VI”

In Admiralty Practice, In Rem Actions and Arrest on (Updated )

In this matter the Plaintiff had arrested the Defendant dredge and afterwards learned that the “spoils pipeline” had been rented to a third party and moved. The Plaintiff thereafter brought this motion which was treated as an application to show cause order. The Defendant argued that the rented pipeline was not caught by the arrest warrant. However, the Prothonotary held that an arrest warrant catches all of a ship’s equipment including equipment not on board the ship. The Prothonotary further held that the Plaintiff had made a prima facie case for contempt and a show cause order was issued.